Paul Messina – Producer / Writer / Storyteller
Description: A Zelig-like journey through TV history
41 years ago tonight, on Tuesday, January 12, 1971 TV changed forever when “ All in the Family ” premiered on CBS .
Oh it was different. It was a sitcom that starred an unlikeable character. Well… he was likeable… but it was hidden underneath all that bigotry. He loved his wife. He loved his daughter. We figured out eventually that he even loved Meathead. But Archie Bunker was one of a kind (in TV land). The world was full of real “Archie Bunkers.”
And that’s one way “ All in the Family ” made its mark. It made “Archie Bunker” a common phrase that meant bigot… more specifically a “lovable” bigot. There’s one in almost every family. It also brought several other words into the American lexicon: Dingbat, Meathead, stifle. It even gave us the first toilet flush in sitcom history.
Paul Messina – Producer / Writer / Storyteller